The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation hosted its Sixth Annual Treasure Chests 5K and Fun Run powered by Jabil and supported by Coca-Cola Beverages Florida on Sunday morning prior to the Buccaneers' Crucial Catch game against the Cleveland Browns. The race benefits breast cancer research and patient services in the Bay area with a portion of each race registration going to the American Cancer Society, the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation, the Florida Hospital Foundation and the Moffitt Cancer Center.
Race participants lined up on the starting line at AdventHealth Training Center at 7:30 a.m. to run the 5K or one-mile Fun Run course that wrapped around Raymond James Stadium and back again. The finish line this year was at the Buccaneers' all-new indoor training facility where there was plenty of celebration for the finishers.
Before the race began, Buccaneers Co-Owner and President of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation and Glazer Family Foundation Darcie Glazer Kassewitz spoke to those in attendance, offering her words of support and encouragement.
"Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in this country," said Glazer Kassewitz. "It's one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women. Everybody coming out here this morning and showing our support, raising money and bringing attention to this cause is so, so important."
There was one special guest in particular that was there to blow the starting horn. Susie Allen, mother of Buccaneers' defensive tackle Beau Allen, is a breast cancer survivor and has been cancer-free for 15 years. Joined by her son on stage, Allen advocated for diligence in self-examination. Allen was diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in 2003 after she discovered something was off after a self-exam. A routine MRI and ultrasound failed to detect the cancer, but Allen, a nurse, stayed persistent and insisted on a biopsy. It ended up saving her life.
Beau Allen is grateful for his mother's intuition and has made raising awareness for breast cancer a personal mission. He wears a pink ribbon in his hair during October games and has done this to support breast cancer research.
Nearly 4,000 participants were on hand for the Treasure Chests 5K & Fun Run powered by Jabil. The first 500 registrants were selected to participate in a special halftime presentation at the Browns vs. Buccaneers game later in the day. The winners of pre-determined categories at the end of the race were recognized as the honorary guests of the game during the coin toss. Two companies that were recognized for their efforts in the corporate challenge were Florida Hospital, who had the highest fundraising total of any team and also Orange Theory Fitness, who maybe a little unsurprisingly, finished with the fastest time of any team.
The race's title sponsor is Jabil, a technology company that has sponsored the event for the past two years.
"This aligns with Jabil and the Bucs' partnership in giving back to the community and supporting the community," Jabil's Beth Walters said. "One of our main things is education and we think breast cancer research and education is so important."
Throughout the game, the Buccaneers will be honoring cancer survivors and feature other league-wide programming as part of the NFL's Crucial Catch initiative that raises awareness for all types of cancer.
View pictures from the 6th annual Tampa Bay Buccaneers Treasure Chests 5K + Fun Run powered by Jabil.
